SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
81. anuththama: (अनुत्तमः)
Thereafter, he is only the ‘anuththama:’ – the one who has none superior than himself.
The scriptures declare thus:
- “Behold! There’s none superior to him ”
- “Who can ever compete with that supreme brahman in supremacy?”
- “Who can compete with him?”
- “Oh arjuna, , there’s none superior to me”
- “There’s none known to be superior to the supreme brahman who is sporting this cosmic form (the viSvarUpam)”
Etymology: The one who has no one superior to himself is called ‘anuththama:’
उत्तमॊ नास्ति यस्मात् सः अनुत्तम उदाहृतः |
82. dhurAdharsha: (दुराधर्षः)
He is also ‘dhurAdharsha:’ – the unshakeable one or the one who owns the unintelligible abode of SrIvaikuNtam.
He is called dhurAdharsha: because he is the most sacrosanct due to his extreme composure, just like the mighty ocean.
The scriptures say:
- “He is accessed by the mind only; He is the life force; He is the most effulgent; He is the one with unfaltering and ever fulfilled desires; He is the embodiment of the sky; He is the power behind all actions; He is the one who is liked by everyone; He is the embodiment of all great essences; He is the one who owns all these entities! He does not talk, and remains silent! He doesn’t have another entity which he ought to regard!”
- “He is the most composed supreme brahman ”
- “He is highly regarded like the mighty ocean”
- “He is comparable to the vast ocean in his composure” etc.
Several other contextual vEdhic verses can be quoted, as below:
- “That is the supreme abode of lord vishNu”
- “In that imperishable supreme sky…”
- “That is verily the heaven”
- “That is my supreme abode, arjuna!”
- “…the most divine abode, which is eternal and imperceptible”
- “…and return to your supreme abode after killing rAvaNa ”
- “…and then he entered his original abode of the Vaishnava effulgence”
- “…where the time of the form of kalA, kAshta, muhUrtha etc does not affect anything”
- “That is the supreme abode of those nithyasUris ”, etc.
With all these statements and more, and also with the declarations that were quoted before, when there is a doubt raised with respect to uniqueness, limitlessness, as also in the eternity of his supreme abode which is by nature transcending time, imperishable, unaffected, transcending thamas – the darkness, eternal, the world of no return, and being befitting of the divine qualities and nature of bhagavAn, such a doubt is overcome by scriptural statements that say “He only existed, with none second to him ”, “at that time, neither the sentient entities existed, nor the insentient (in manifest form)”, et al. In such a divine abode SrIvaikuNtam , and particularly in the divine court of the thousand pillared hall mentioned in the kaushIthaki brAhmaNam part of the vEdhas, the divine association of bhagavAn with SrIdhEvi, bhUdhEvi and neeLAdhEvi as his divine consorts – while resting on the divine throne of AdhiSEsha, with His lotus feet being served eternally by His divine servants such as AdhiSEsha, garuda, viSvaksEna, et al in the ways explained earlier – is explained by the innumerable hidden vEdhic verses, as also his sole mastership over all wealth, his universal monarchy, his capabilities of being the monarch, and other divine qualities.
This is also clear from the words of vAyu, quoted in the Siva purAna: “In that supreme abode SrIvaikuNtam, the lord of all words – SrI vishNu who is imperceptible – rests with his divine consort SrI mahAlakshmi, along with his innumerable devotees and their followers”.
The vishNu thathva says thus: “bhagavAn has a body composed of five powers (viz. time, knowledge, action, free will and life). He is the supreme controller of all worlds. He rests in the supreme abode of SrIvaikuNtam enjoying himself”
Etymology: Since bhagavAn is most composed and inviolable like the vast ocean, he is called ‘dhurAdharsha:’. Alternately, since he possesses the unintelligible supreme abode of SrIvaikuNtam, he is called ‘dhurAdharsha:’.
अपां निधिवदक्षॊभ्यः दुराधर्ष इतीरितः |
दुर्विज्ञॆयगतिः यस्मात् दुराधर्षः प्रकीर्तितः ||
83. kruthagya: (कृतज्ञः) (also repeated in 536)
Further, since bhagavAn remembers even the smallest service done unto him by the lower mortals in this material creation (samsAris), who are characterized by eternal and unconditional servitude to bhagavAn and solely dependent on him by all means – and yet who are possessed with a feeling of independence that is imposed due to ignorance from time immemorial, he is called ‘kruthagya:’ (read as kruthagya: – the grateful one.
The adjunct ‘ka:’ (कः) is suffixed to the root, resulting in this divine name kruthagya:, as per the grammatical aphorism ‘आतॊsनुपसर्गॆ कः’. Same is the case with other divine names such as ‘brahmagya:’ ब्रह्मज्ञः (674), ‘prANaha:’ प्राणदः (66, 323, 409, and 956), et al.
This is very clearly shown in bhagavAn’s own words in the bhagavath gIthA, which says thus: “Even though he is of a very bad conduct before, if he sings my glory with a single mind, then he ought to be considered as a saint; for, he has a perfectly resolved mind now”.
In such cases, it is said that bhagavAn fails to find a suitable favor to be returned to such single minded souls. This is very clear from the famous verse from mahAbhAratha, which says thus (just before Krishna departs to SrIvaikuNtam): “When I was away from dhraupadhi when she actually needed my help, she cried out my name ‘gOvindha’. That now stands like a huge debt in my heart, which I can never pay back!”
Etymology: Since bhagavAn remembers even the smallest of deeds done unto him by all creatures and returns suitable fruits, and since he gets satisfied even with just a leaf, or a flower or any small thing offered to him and grants verily the ‘mOksha’ in return of their small service, he is called ‘kruthagya:’
प्राणिभिः यत्कृतं कर्म तज्ज्ञात्वा फलदॊ यतः |
पत्रपुष्पादिना तुष्टः कृतज्ञॊ मॊक्षदानतः ||
84. kruthi: (कृतिः)
Since he only gets even such small services done unto him from the creatures all by himself, he is called ‘kruthi:’ – the one who gets the righteous acts done.
The adjunct ‘kthin’ (क्तिन्) is suffixed to the root ‘kru’ (कृ) – meaning ‘to do’, as per the grammatical rules. The same rule is applied in other names such as ‘bhUthi:’ भूतिः (636), ‘sidhdhi:’ सिद्धिः (99), et al.
The scriptures also say thus: “He only gets the righteous acts done by those whom he wishes to uplift from this material creation”.
Etymology: He – who gets the righteous acts done by those creatures and thus gets satisfied – is called ‘kruthi:’. The effort or action of the doers is called ‘kruthi:’.
यस्मात् प्रसन्नात् सुकृतं तॆषां स कृतिरिष्यतॆ |
प्रयत्नॊ वा क्रिया वा अथ कृतिरुक्ता क्रियावताम् ||
85. AthmavAn (आत्मवान्)
Although he is the one who gets the right acts done, since he solely owns all such creatures as his property – by their nature, deeds, et al, he is called ‘AthmavAn’ – the one who owns such creatures.
Etymology: Since he is resides in the individual souls as well as their bodies as their sole owner, he is called AtmavAn. Alternately, since he is focused in his own greatness, he is called ‘AthmavAn’.
एषाम् आत्मशरीरादि-निवासात् अथवात्मवान् |
स्वॆ महिम्नि प्रतिष्ठानात् आत्मवान् अभिदीयतॆ ||
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सुरॆशः शरणं शर्म विश्वरॆता प्रजाभवः ।
अहः सम्वत्सरॊ व्यालः प्रत्ययः सर्वदर्शनः ॥ १० ॥
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86. surESa: (सुरॆशः)
The one who grants the wishes of even the mortals such as brahmA et al, who long for lower material pleasures such as the status of ‘dhEva’ etc, is called ‘surESa:’ – the king of devas.
brahmA himself declares thus:
“…with whose grace brahmA creats the various creatures in this world, with whose grace that rudhra gains the power to destroy the worlds with his anger, that achyutha himself is the protector of these worlds”, etc.
Etymology: The one who grants the wishes of brahmA and other ‘dhEvas’ – who long for lower material pleasures – is called as ‘surESa:’ by the knowledgeable men.
ब्रह्मादीनां फल्गुफललिप्सूनां त्रिदिवौकसाम् |
संविधाता सुरॆशश्च प्रॊच्यतॆ विबुधॊत्तमैः ||
87. SaraNam (शरणम्)
The one who is equal to all individual souls in being the refuge is called ‘SaraNam’ – the sole refuge.
Since the root word ‘SRuNAthi’ is used to mean protection in this context, the ‘lyut’ (ल्युट्) form of the word is used, which results in suffixing the ‘ana’ (अन) adjunct to the root – resulting in this divine name ‘SaraNam’. The same rule is applied in other divine names such as ‘karaNam’ करणम् (380), ‘kAraNam’ कारणम् (381), ‘pramANam’ प्रमाणम् (430, 959), et al.
This name goes to indicate that he is the causeless means of attaining him.
The scriptures say thus in this context:
- “I, the seeker of salvation that I am, seek refuge in that ‘dhEva’, with whose grace I gained the knowledge about self”
- “nArAyaNa is verily the abode, refuge, associate, and verily the destination of all individual souls”
- “The divine sages of yore have extolled you as the sole refuge of all and sought refuge in you”, et al
Etymology: Since he is the one who ends the distress of the afflicted souls, he is called ‘SaraNam’ ‘sharaNam’. Worshipping whom the souls get rid of all their fears, sorrows, sins and bondages, and also gain utmost happiness, and knowledge, such a one is the ‘SaraNam’.
आर्तानाम् आर्तिहन्तृत्वात् शरणं परिकीर्तितः |
यदुपासं भयं दुःखं पापं बन्धॊ न बाधतॆ ||
प्रतिष्ठा च सुखं ज्ञानं भवॆत् शरणमित्यतः |
88. Sarma (शर्म)
The word ‘Sarma’ means ‘happiness’. Since he is the most enjoyable goal of all souls, he is called ‘Sarma’ – the blissful goal.
The ‘manin’ (मनिन्) adjunct is used to give the word ‘Sarma’ its meaning as ‘happiness’.
The scriptures say:
- “He is the essence of everything; He is the fragrance of everything”
- “The supreme brahman is verily the happiness. He is only the supreme bliss”
- “brahman is verily the embodiment of bliss”, etc.
Etymology: Since he is of the form of supreme bliss, and since he wards off all violence, he is called ‘Sarma’.
परमानन्दरूपत्वात् शर्म हिंसादि मन्थनात् |
89. viSvarEthA: (विश्वरॆताः)
This divine name ‘viSvarEthA:’ explains further the form of bhagavAn as the sole refuge (the means of attaining salvation) as well as the most blissful goal. This divine name means to say ‘the whole world is his creation’.
He only creates these various creatures with the innumerable individual souls and thus creates this whole world for the sake of his own service, displaying his knowledge and supremacy.
The scriptures say thus in this regard:
- “The life force called ‘prANa’, the mind, and all the senses are born out of him. . The basic elements of creation namely space, air, fire, water and earth that are born out of him bear this whole creation”
- “Seven life forces are born out of him”
- “I am only the cause behind the varied characters in all these creatures”
The vishNu thathva says thus:
“The wealth of ‘body’ is very special, and is created for the sake of dedicating it to the supreme soul. Oh brahman, these bodies were made as before, with all limbs to serve the supreme godhead “, et al.
Etymology: Since this world is the offspring of bhagavAn, that hari is called ‘viSvarEthA:’. The one who gives knowledge and senses unto the individual souls in the form of a body – only for serving him eternally – is called ‘viSvarEthA:’
विश्वं रॆतॊ भगवतॊ विश्वरॆताः हरिः स्मृतः |
ज्ञानॆन्द्रियादिकं विश्वं परिचर्यार्थमॆव हि |
यः प्रजानां करॊतीति विश्वरॆताश्च स स्मृतः ||
90. prajAbhava: (प्रजाभवः)
All creatures finally approach him as their final goal and attain him using the tools (namely sense organs, mind, et al) given by him. Thus, he is called ‘prajAbhava:’ – the one with whose tools the creatures attain him.
The ‘gha:’ (घः) adjunct is suffixed in this case, which results in the masculine form of the word, since the root is related to some tool in this case (the ‘gha:’ adjunct is usually related to a tool or a place).
The same rule of grammar is applied in other divine names as well, such as ‘ASrama:’ आश्रमः (856), ‘niyama:’ नियमः (163, 869), ‘yama:’ यमः (164, 870), etc.
Etymology: Since all the creatures utilize the tools given unto them by the supreme brahman (such as body with all such faculties as mind, senses, et al) and approach him as their final goal, he is called ‘prajAbhava:’.
तद्दत्तैरॆव करणैः तस्मिन्नभिमुखाः प्रजाः |
सर्वाश्चैव भवन्तीति प्रजाभव उदाहृतः ||
adiyen srinivasa raja ramanuja dasan
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